Wire bottle carrier



June 30, 1942. T. H. JENKINS WIRE BOTTLE CARRIER Filed April 17, 1939 Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STATES i ATENT OFFICE WIRE BOTTLE CARRIER Tazewell H. Jenkins, Chicago, Ill. Application April 17, 1939, Serial No. 268,191

6 Claims.

The present invention has for its object to produce a simple, novel, effective and inexpensive device adapted to be readily attached to the neck of a bottle or a similar member, in order to provide a bail by means of which it may be carried about.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a carrier, in the closed condition and with the bail lying in the plane of the body of the carrier; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of that side of the carrier that may be opened to permit the application or removal of the carrier from an object, or serve to lock the carrier on such object; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the carrier in its open or expanded condition; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a modification; Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 4, showing a still further modification; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the carrier open; and Fig. 9 is an end view of the lefthand member of the carrier in Fig. 8.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, i represents a divided ring preferably formed from a piece of strong spring wire. One end of the wire is fashioned into an eye 2, shown as lying in the plane of the ring. Engaged with this eye is one end of a bail 3, conveniently through inserting one end of the bail through the eye and bending it into a cooperating eye 4. This connection permits the bail to swing down out of the way when not in use. The other end of the ball is hingedly connected to the ring at a point diametrically opposite the eye 2. In the arrangement shown, this connection comprises an eye 5 on the ring and a second eye 9 on the bail, these eyes being interlinked as are the eyes 2 and 4.

The second free wire end of the divided rin is bent into a hook 6 which, when the ring is contracted into its normal working condition, overlies the eye 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, behind the adjacent arm of the bail, with the open side of the hook directed toward the bail. The point of the hook is elongated so that a considerable portion may be bent downwardly to form with the immediately adjacent portion an S-shaped element, such as indicated at 1. When the part 1 is passed down through the eye 2, the curved tip 8 thereof underlies the wire on the forward side of the eye 2 to prevent the hooked end of the wire from being lifted up until the parts are purposely manipulated to permit this to be done. Whenever the bottle or other article to which the carrier has been applied is being held suspended from the hail, the eye 4 of the bail positions'itself at about the middle of the forward half of the eye 2 and thus prevents the point of the hook 6 from being lifted. When the weight on the bail is removed, the eye 4 may be slipped laterally closer to the bottle or other article and thus leave room for removing the point of the hook from the eye and raising the hook, as shown in Fig. 3. The di vided ring is now open and can be slipped on and 01f the neck of the bottle or similar member.

The bail may hang down, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, both when the ring is closed and when it is open. In applying the ring to an article, the bail may be used to carry the hook 6 back far enough to bring the extreme point 8 directly over the eye 2 so that, by pressing down on the hook, it will be interlocked with its eye.

It will be seen that since the eye 2 underlies the hook 6, the weight of the article being car ried serves to hold the hook and the eye in interlocked relation to each other; the upward pull on the ring being exerted at the eye, and the weight of the article bearing down on the hook. Thus, there is never any danger of accidental unlatching of the carrier while an article is being carried about therein.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the eye 12 corresponding to the eye 2 is located in a plane approximately at right angles to the plane of the divided ring, and the hook l3, correspond ing to the hook 6 of the first form, is disposed in a similar plane with the open side of the hook directed upwardly. The end portion of the point of the hook is bent laterally and forwardly, namely in the direction of that portion of the ring immediately adjacent to the hook, as indicated at M. The parts are so proportioned that the ring is closed by bringing the hook l3 down behind the eye 12 and permitting the bent point 14 to extend forwardly through the eye. To unfasten the ring from the article, the point I4 is simply pressed back until clear of the eye I2, and the hook may then be lifted, leaving the ring free to expand.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the eye l5, corresponding to the eyes 2 and I2 lies in a plane which, while containing a radius of the ring, makes an acute angle with the plane of the ring; the eye sloping forwardly and downwardly so that one side lies above and behind the other side. The hook [6, corresponding to the hooks 6 and It, may be a simple hook member lying in a plane which contains a radius of the ring but which slopes forwardly and downwardly from that plane. In other words, the hook I6 is inclined in the same direction as is the eye l5. Therefore, when the ring is contracted sufiiciently to cause the hooked end of the wire to cross over the top of the other end, the hook drops down behind the eye and interlocks with the same to the extent that the eye may be said to overlie the hook and keep the latter from being lifted until the ring is contracted sufiiciently to permit the hook to be shifted laterally clear of the overhanging eye.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple and novel wire carrier comprising a divided ring and a bail permanently attached to the latter; the ends of the wire forming the ring being adapted to be easily interlocked in applying the ring to the neck of a bottle or other member and to be readily disengaged from each other When this is done intentionally; the interlocking connection being made more secure when the Weight of an article being lifted or carried about by the device is imposed upon the ring.

While I have illustrated and described with Q particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, with a few modifications I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device comprising a resilient wire ring divided at one point only, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, and a hook on the other end of the wire adapted to lie flat against said eye and having a part adapted to enter the eye to hold the ring contracted when that end of the wire is crossed over the top of the first end.

2. A device comprising a resilient wire ring divided at one point only, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, and a hook on the other end of the wire and having at the free end an extension adapted to enter said eye and hold the ring contracted when that end of the wire is crossed over the top of the first end, said eye lying in a plane transverse to the plane of the ring and the extension on the hook being adapted to enter the eye from the rear.

3. A device comprising a divided resilient wire ring, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, and an S-shaped hook on the other end of the Wire adapted to enter said eye and hold the ring contracted when that end of the wire is crossed over the top of the first end, said eye lying in the plane of the ring and the hook being adapted to pass down into the eye from above.

4. A device comprising a divided resilient wire ring, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, and a hook on the other end of the wire adapted to lie fiat against said eye, the free end of the hook projecting laterally from the plane of the hook and being adapted to enter said eye and hold the ring contracted when that end of the Wire is crossed over the top of the first end.

5. A device comprising a divided resilient wire ring, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, a hook on the other end of the wire adapted to embrace the adjacent part of the bail and lie fiat against said eye, and the free end of said hook being shaped to form an S-shaped element projecting downwardly transverse to that of the hook, said eye lying in the plane of the ring and the hook being adapted to overlie the eye with the Sshaped element passing down into the eye from above.

6. A device comprising a divided resilient wire ring, one end of the ring being formed into an eye, a bail permanently connected to said eye and to a diametrically opposite point on the ring, said eye lying outwardly from the ring in a plane that is inclined to the plane of the ring in a direction to cause the rear end of the eye to lie above and behind the forward end, and a hook on the other end of the wire shaped to drop behind and fit against said eye when that end of the wire is crossed over the top of the other end.

TAZEWELL H. JENKINS. 

